Saturday, 6 June 2015

Loyle Carner - New Waves

If Breaking More Waves was going to be defined by the sort of music we post and write about, hip-hop and spoken word probably wouldn’t be the first thing that comes to mind. That doesn’t mean it should be the last thing though. If you thread carefully back through our posts you’ll find that, in particular, British spoken word crops up now and then. From the thoughtful (Scroobius Pip) to the pop (Rizzle Kicks), to the genre crossing (Young Fathers), to the amusing (Too Many T’s) to the moving (Kate Tempest), it’s there. It’s Kate Tempest who we have to thank for introducing us to today’s new artist; Loyle Carner - as we first caught Loyle as the support act on Kate’s Spring UK tour. But before that Loyle picked up some attention in 2014 with his calmly powerful EP A Little Late. It was a collection of songs that was far removed from the normal grind of hip-hop, instead bringing a soothing introspective sound that laid open his deeply honest words about his life.That honesty continues on his latest track Tierney Terrace, which deftly deals with Loyle’s relationship with his father: “All I wanted was a f*cking man, to tell the f*cking truth, hold my f*cking hand,” he explains, before adding “I didn’t understand.” Once you’ve heard those words you’ll probably want to go in deeper, and the live beat, the gentle grooves, and Loyle’s immaculate but wounded delivery make for an all-encompassing listen. Great stuff.Tierney Terrace is released via paradYse Records on July 24th. Loyle is playing a number of festivals this summer including the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury.Loyle Carner - Tierney Terrace